Resigns over offensive comments

26 May, 2014

Rap Genius co-founder Moghadam resigns after posting a series of annotations on the site’s copy of Roger’s 41-page manifesto. Moghadam comments include “beautifully written” and comments about Rodger’s sister:

Elliot barely mentions his sister Georgia throughout the book! Towards the end, however, he tells us that they did not get along and becomes extremely angry when he hears her having sex with her boyfriend MY GUESS: his sister is smokin hot

He tells Valleywag:

I was fascinated by the fact that a text was associated with such a heartbreaking crime, especially since Elliot is talking about my neighborhood growing up. I got carried away with making the annotations and making any comment about his sister was in horrible taste, thankfully the rap genius community edits out my poor judgement, I am very sorry for writing it

And apologizes on Twitter

I want to apologize to everyone. I need to hear these criticisms, reflect for real, and work on becoming a better person.

However, Mahbod Moghadam, one of my co-founders, annotated the piece with annotations that not only didn’t attempt to enhance anyone’s understanding of the text, but went beyond that into gleeful insensitivity and misogyny. All of which is contrary to everything we’re trying to accomplish at Rap Genius.